Flush type vehicle window



Pi'il 11, 1961 G. R. swANsoN ET AL 2,979,327

FLUSH TYPE VEHICLE WINDOW Filed Nov. 17, 1958 5 SheelZS-Sheeil 1 April11, 1961 G. R. SWANsoN ET AL 2,979,327

FLUSH TYPE VEHICLE WINDOW 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 17, 1958 A T TORNEY April 11, 1961 G. R. swANsoN ETAI. 2,979,327

FLUSH TYPE VEHICLE WINDOW Filed Nov. 17, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VENTO R S @fab/7,? wma/f B Y @faz Z Z//aZf//a A T TRNE Y April l1, 1961 G.R.I swANsoN ET AL 2,979,327

FLUSH TYPE VEHICLE WINDOW Filed Nov. 17. 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORSArm/9415K April l l, 1961 G. R. SWANSON ETAL FLUSH TYPE VEHICLE WINDOWFiled Nov. 17, 1958 5 sheets-sheet 5 ATTORNEY United, States Patenti@2,979,321 n FLUSH TYPE VEHICLE WINDOW j.

Gordon R. Swanson and l y i assignors to General Motors Corporation,Detroit, l Mich., a corporation of Delaware v 'Filed Nov. 17, 1958',Ser. No. 774,458`

7 Claims., (Cl. 26S- 124) The present invention relates tol-an improvedWindow actuating mechanism of the type particularly adapted for Peter W.Wozena,'Detroit,

use with an automobile. Morespeciically,V the"pr'e sent inventionrelates to a window actuating mechanism which is capable of positioninga'raised'window in substantially flush relation with the outer door orbody'panelwith which it is associated. Y

y Forreasons of window storage andfcomplication of ll the operatingmechanism, it has beenvthe practice in Ythe past to mount vehiclewindows somewhat inboard 'of the outer door or body panel with whichthey are associated. In addition to the improved appearance whichobtains with a ush mounted type window, functionalfadvantages arerealized also. With windows which are" set inboard from the outer dooror bodypanel, 'it necessary`- to provide sealing means to'keep waterfrom seeping within the door and which means frequently detracts fromthe vehicles appearance. propensity for collecting or admitting waterbetween the window and door is substantially eliminated.

The subject window' operating mechanism includesl means for verticallyraising and loweringthe window and With a flush type window the 71uniquely kcombines therewithmeans for translating or Figures 2 through 4are sectlonal views along lin'c l of Figure l showing the window invariouspositions;

Figure 5 is a view along line 5-5 of Figure 2; Figure 6 is a view alongline 6-6 of Figure lZ; Figure 7 is a view along line'7-7 of Figure 2fand Figure 8 is a view along line 8--8 of Figure 4.

y, Patented Apr. Y11, 1951 and a guide extension 30 at its upper end.Inboard guide 20 also has aguide extension 32 at its upper end.

A depending plate 34 is secured to the lower edge of window 14 andincludes a pair of laterally inwardly extending ears 36-and 38 each ofwhich has aroller 40 and 42 respectively pivotally mounted thereonthroughvpins 4 4 and 46. Rollers 40 and 42 move only in the outboardguide 22. A link 48 is pivotally secured` at one end to ear 36 throughv`pin 44. The other end of link 48 is pivotally secured through a pin 50to a roller 52 which is movable only inthe inboard guide 20.

A bellcrank 54 is'- pivotallyA secured through pin 46 to ear 38. Oneleg56 of vbellcrank 54 is pivotally secured through a pinvr 58 to a roller60 movable only in the inboard guide 20. The other leg 62 of bellcrank54 includes a pin or follower 64 xed thereto. Follower pin 6 4 isradapted to engage a cam surface 66 formed on the Voutboard. gu'ide`22proximate the guide extension 28. A link l68'is pivotally secured ytolink 48 through pin 50 and to bellcrankr 54' throughpin 58.

' Y'The links `68 associated with the respective guide sets at eithersideof window 14 arel interconnected through a cross member70 toY whichwindow actuating mechanism 16 is suitably articulated at points 72 and74 as best seen Figure '1. f j Referring irstto Figure 2, when it isdesired to lower window 14, link 68 isshifted downwardly so as to movethe rollers 52 and I60- downwardly within the inboard guideKZUq/Thismovement kof link 68 pulls the rollers 40 and 42 Vout ofthe guideextensions 30 and 28 into vertically spaced' relationship with rollers52 and 60 as Will best be 'seen in Figures 3 and 4. This inboardshiftingrof rollers 40 -and 42 imparts a similar shifting movement towindow 14 shifting the latter inboar'dy of door 12 sov that the loweredge of the window is moved out of abutting relationship with the doorouter panel 76.

Thereafter, further downward movement of links'68 willA cause window 14to move 4downwardly within door12 toits fully lowered position as seenin Figure 4.`

When vwindow 14 is moved to its up position, the rollers move along therespective guides 28 and 22 in their vertically spaced relationshipuntil pin 64 engages cam surface 66 of the outboard guide 22. Thereaftercontinued upward movement of link 68 causes the bellcrank '54 to swingabout its pivot 46 in a counterclockwise direction to move roller 42into extension 28 of guide 22 1 and toA horizontally align roller 60therewith in guide 20.

Simultaneously with this movement of bellcrank 54, roller 40 willralsofbe moved into the extension 30Y of guide 22' androller 52 intoextension 32 of guide 20 to locate:V these rollersin horizontal alignedrelationship Referring first to Figure l,` a vehicle is indicatedgenerally at 10 and includes a door 12 within which'a window 14 isadapted to be mounted for verticalraising and lowering.` By means ofstructure to'bevsubsequently considered in greater detail, window 14 isconnected with a conventional window raising and lowering mechanismindicated generally at 16. Window actuatingl mechanism 16 may either bemanually controlled or, as illustrated in the drawings, controlled by anelectric motor and gear sector device indicated generally at 18.

Referring more specifically to Figures 2 through 4, inboard and outboardguides 20 and 22 are mounted in any suitable manner on the door side.panel 24 as through 4the bracket device indicated generally at 26 inFigure 5. I

A pair of inboard and outboard guides 20 and 22 are provided at eachside of window 14. Each of the guide sets are of identical construction,therefore, only one set willlbe described. v

lt will be noted that the guides 20 and 22 are generally aligned attheir lower portion. Outboard guide 22 has a guide extension 28approximately intermediate its length and to move the window to its upposition. At the same time window 14 is shifted outboard into ilushrelation with door panel 76.

Arseal strip 78 is cemented to window plate 34 and coacts with the upperedge 80 of door panel 76 to seal and cushion therwindow in its closedposition.

As seen in Figures l and 2, anY upper window channel y82 is adapted toabut against a seal strip 84 secured to Y A pair of aligned snubberdevices 88 and 9G are respectively mounted on the inner and outer panels92 and 76 of door 12 to resiliently support window 14 in its lateralmovement relative to the door. Snubbers 38 and 90`are essentiallyidentical and include piston members 94 and -96 slidably disposed incylinders 98 and 100. Each of the pistons 94 and 96 is biased towardwindow plate 34 byak spring 102.r The pistons also include rollermembers'104 and-106 suitably mounted thereon'so that the action of thesnubbers in no way inhibits the up and down f movement ofthe window.

A spring biased hinge cover 108 is provided to provide access into thedoor well. Cover 108 is biased in a closing or outboard direction whenwindow 14 is 1n its down position since the opening 110 otherwisenecessarily provided to permit the lateral movement of window 14 wouldbe large and unsightly. As window 14 is shifted laterally inwardlypreliminarily to lowering the same, cover 108 is likewise movedlaterally or inboardV to accommodate such window movement. A seal strip112 is secured along the outer edge of cover 108.

We claim: 1. A window operating mechanism of the type 1n which a windowis retractably mounted within a vehicle body, said body including anouter wall with which said window is adapted to be mounted in flushrelationship when said window is in its fully closed position, sa1dmechanism comprising plate means mounted on and de- -pending from saidwindow Within said body, a pair of vertically spaced roller membersmountedV on said plate means, a first guide member mounted proximatesaid plate means and adapted to receive said roller members, said guidemember including an arcuate extension proximate its upper end andanother arcuate extension intermediate its ends, said arcuate extensionsextending 1n the direction of the outer wall of said body, a secondguide member disposed proximate said first guide member and including anarcuate extension at its upper end, the arcuate extension of said secondguide member extending in substantially the opposite direction as thearcuate extensions of said first guide member, a first link memberarticulated to the upper of said roller members, a third rollerpivotally connected to the other end of said link and adapted to trackwithin said second guide member, a bellcrank lever pivoted to the lowerof said pair of rollers, a fourth roller pivoted to one arm of saidbellcrank lever and adapted to track within said second guide member, asecond link interconnecting said third and fourth roller members, meansoperatively connected to said second link for moving said rollers up anddown within said guide members to provide opening and closing movementsto said window, and means `for imparting rotation to said bellcranklever and said first link 'whereby said pair of rollers are forced tomove into the arcuate extensions of the first guide member as the windowapproaches its uppermost position whereby said window is moved laterallyrelative to said body to position the window in flush relationship withthe outer wall of said bod 2.yA window operating mechanism of the typein which a window is retractably mounted'within a vehicle body, saidbody including an outer wall with which said window is adapted to bemounted in flush relationship when said window is in its fully closedposition, said window including a pair of longitudinally spacedsubstantially vertical edges, said mechanism comprising plate meansmounted on and depending from said window Within said body, first andsecond pairs of vertically spaced roller members respectively mounted onsaid plate means adjacent said `window edges, first guide membersmounted proximate said plate means and adapted to respectively receivesaid first and second pairs of roller members, each of said guidemembers including an arcuate extension proximate its upper end andanother arcuate extension intermediate its ends, said arcuate extensionsextending in the direction of the outer wall of said body, second guidemembers disposed proximate said first guide members and including' anarcuate extension adjacent the upper ends, the arcuate extensions ofsaid second guide members extending in substantially the oppositedirection as the arcuate extensions of said-first guide members, tirstlink members articulated to theupper roller member of each of saidpairs, third roller members pivotally connected to the other ends ofsaid links and adapted to track within said Asecond guide members,bellcrank levers pivoted to the lower roller of each of said pairs,fourth rollers pivoted to one arm of said bellcrank levers and adaptedto track within said second guide members, second links interconnectingthe third and fourth roller members of each pair, means operativelyconnected to said second links for moving said rollers u-p and downwithin said guide members to provide opening and closing movements tosaid window, and means for imparting rotation to said bellcrank leversand said first links whereby said first pair of rollers is forced tomove into the arcuate extensions of the first guide members as thewindow approaches its uppermost position whereby said window is movedlaterally relative to said body to position the window in fiushrelationship with the outer wall of said body.

3. A window operating mechanism as set forth in claim l in whichrotation of the bellcrank lever causes the third roller to move with thearcuate extension of said second guide member permitting the latterroller to substantially horizontally align with said upper rollerwhereby the first Vlink causes the latter roller to move within theupper arcuate extension.

4. A window operating mechanism as set forth in claim 1 in which thebellcrank rotating means comprises a cam surface formed on the firstguide member proximate the intermediate arcuate extension, a followermemberV on the othervarm of the bellcrank lever, said follower memberVadapted to engage said cam surface to impart said rotation to thebellcrank lever.

5. A window operating mechanism as set forth in claim 2 in which themeans operatively connected to said Vsecond links includes a commonmember fixed between said links.

6. A window operating mechanism as set forth in claim 1 in which thefirst and second guide members are longitudinally offset `from eachother.

7. A window actuating mechanism `for raising and lowering a. window ofthe type adapted to be mounted on a hollow support structure, saidsupport structure including at least one outer wall with which saidwindow lis adapted to be mounted in flush relationship when the windowis in its fully closed position, said mechanism comprising a pluralityof roller elements mounted on said window, guide means generally alignedin the direction of up and down window movement, said rollers beingdisposed in said guide means, means operatively connected to said Windowfor moving said window in up and down directions causing said rollers totrack ,within said guide means, said guide means including a main guidesection terminating at one end in a first portion extending laterallyfrom said section, a second portion extending laterally from saidsection and longitudinally spaced from the first portion, said pluralityof rollers including a pair of linked rollers adapted to coact with saidmain guide section and each laterally extending guide portion wherebyone roller of each pair is moved laterally relative to said windowthereby moving said window to a fiush position with respect to said wallwhen the window is in its closed position, said guide means and rollerscoacting to move the window laterally away from said wall during theinitial movement of the window from its closed toward an open position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,112,330 Carr Mar. 29, 1938 2,399,109 Geer Apr. 23, 1946 FOREIGNPATENTS 594,946 Germany Mar. 23, 1934 59,173 Denmark Nov. 3, 194'1

